


What Comes Next? You've Been Freed.

by RavenpuffWrites



Series: You're The Sunflower [10]
Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man - All Media Types, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Also Steve has Bucky's dog tags, Expanding the Sunflower Verse, Gen, Kid Peter Parker, Oh! Daisy is also mentioned but not a big part of the story, Or Tony tries to convince Steve he deserves a break and Steve says no, Parent Tony Stark, Past Bucky Barnes/Steve Rogers, Peter Parker - Freeform, Peter Parker is Tony Stark's Biological Child, Peter Parker isn't Spider-Man, Post-Battle of New York (Marvel), Steve Rogers & Tony Stark Friendship, Steve Rogers Feels, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Tony Stark Is a Good Bro, Tony hates SHIELD like a lot, by not focusing just on Peter for once, not Fury or SHIELD friendly really
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-30
Updated: 2021-01-30
Packaged: 2021-03-16 20:15:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,763
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29088195
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RavenpuffWrites/pseuds/RavenpuffWrites
Summary: A month or so after BONY, Tony and Peter ask Steve to join them upstate for a summer break.While there, Tony decides to ask Steve what it is he plans to do now that he has the chance to do whatever he wants.
Relationships: Peter Parker & Tony Stark, Steve Rogers & Tony Stark
Series: You're The Sunflower [10]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1469042
Kudos: 30





	What Comes Next? You've Been Freed.

**Author's Note:**

> This takes place in between Chapters 1 and 2 of "Earth's Mightiest Heroes, Defeated By An 8-Year-Old".
> 
> It isn't required reading for this fic, but that and the rest of the series certainly adds context to this. But basically, the important things are: Peter is Tony's son, and Steve has a massive newfie named Daisy. Also basically only up until Iron Man (the first one) is canon, plus most of the first Avengers. Everything besides that is dead to me.

It had been Peter’s idea to ask Steve to join them at the cabin their first full week away that summer. Tony had been hesitant at first to agree, not because he didn’t think time away from the city would do the Captain good, but because he was worried the domesticity of it might overwhelm him and just possibly drive him away. Ever since Natasha and Clint had returned from their first mission after New York, Steve had been antsy. He looked as though he desperately wanted to join them, and yet he never made any move to leave. It was like he was stuck.

Tony worried that coming uptown might be enough to drag Steve out of his rut and send him running towards SHIELD. And even though he knew that Steve wasn’t happy doing nothing, the selfish part of Tony didn’t want him to go. Not when Peter had already gotten so attached that he wanted to bring him to the cabin (where Pepper hadn’t even visited until just last year). Not when… not when he was just starting to get used to the constant presence of someone else in the tower, someone else in their family that made things feel just a little bit more like home.

As much as he hated to admit it, Tony had found that he _liked_ having Steve around. Even if they didn’t quite see eye to eye on a dozen different things (including feelings towards Howard Stark), and they bickered back and forth more than they seemed to get along, it was _nice_ to have someone else to be around. Someone who understood the weight that their position as a superhero held, someone who was just as committed as him to doing whatever it took to keep the world safe (even if they disagreed on how to do that). Someone else who loved Peter so much he would adopt a dog just to make the kid smile, say yes to a trip uptown with no notice only because he asked. When he couldn’t be there, Tony had started to rely on Steve to be there for Peter instead. And as selfish as it may be, he wasn’t yet ready to give that up.

It had surprised Tony a great amount how much Steve seemed to like the cabin. The first day or so he had been especially quiet and withdrawn, spending most of the day sitting by the window with a sketch pad on his lap, not drawing but holding tight to the dog tags around his neck. Peter had asked Tony quietly that night as they went to bed if he had done something bad bringing Steve here, and it took all of Tony’s skill to convince his son it would be okay.

And somehow it was. Despite the fact it was still the quietest Tony had ever seen Steve, and there were too many moments he caught him staring off into the distance playing with his dog tags, Steve genuinely seemed to enjoy the change of pace at the cabin. The second day Tony woke up to Steve returning from a long morning run around the lake, and when Peter got up to join them for breakfast, Steve had happily listened to the boy ramble about all he wanted to show him and everything they had to do while they were there.

If it wasn’t for the bursts of quiet, Tony might have thought everything was okay. But as the days ticked by, he couldn’t help but worry that the minute they returned home, Steve would turn and run away from the memories, the way he had been itching to do for months.

The last thing Tony wanted to do was ask, but he knew, all the same, he didn’t have a choice. If not for himself then for Peter, he had to make sure that Steve was doing okay.

So, one evening after tucking his son into bed, Tony brewed a pot of coffee and joined Steve sitting out on the deck by the lake. The same place Steve had come every night since they had arrived.

He took the offered coffee with a quiet thanks, wrapping both his hands around it but making no move to drink it, as he turned his gaze back up towards the stars, not acknowledging as Tony sat down beside him. For a while, they sat in the quiet of summer night, until finally Tony couldn’t take it any longer.

“This cabin used to belong to my parents,” Tony said, looking down at his half-empty cup of coffee and then over at Steve, surprised to find that the super soldier was now staring straight back at him. “It belonged to my mom really. Dad hardly ever came, but mom brought me up here whenever she could. As I got older, I started to hate the trips up here that took me away from school. I stopped coming by the time I was in college. And after they died, I swore I would never come back.”

“It hurt to be here, even when she was alive. It was the only place I was ever allowed to be a kid without my father’s constant scrutinizing. As long as I was here, my mother said, I could be whoever I wanted,” Tony turned away from Steve suddenly, looking back up at the stars to force back the rush of emotions that came every time he thought about his mother even all these years later. “She wanted me to have the world I wanted. But as I grew older, I realized the only thing I would ever be allowed to have is what my father wanted for me. There was no time for dreaming, or being a kid. I had a business to run one day, and I needed to start learning how immediately. Coming back here was too hard after that… it all hurt too much.”

“After Peter was born, I knew I had no idea what I was doing raising him. Rhodey was the first to realize I just needed time to think. So, he sent me and Peter up to the cabin for the weekend to regroup. I wanted to leave as soon as we arrived, but that didn’t seem fair to Peter. And that night as I sat with him in front of the fire, I couldn’t help but think for the first time what my mom used to tell me. That I could be whatever I wanted to be in this cabin. There were no limitations. I decided right then and there I was going to be a good father…” Tony finally looked back at Steve, to find the Captain staring at him with a pained expression he couldn’t quite read. There were tears though in the corners of his eyes, something Tony had no doubt he mimicked so he had no intention of bringing it up.

When Steve noticed Tony was looking at him, he quickly tried to force a smile. “You are a good dad, Tony. Anyone with two eyes could see that.”

“Thanks Cap,” Tony said softly, caught off guard for a moment at the sudden compliment. It took a moment for him to find his words again, and he couldn’t help but wonder as he did if he would ever stop feeling so shocked that someone saw good in him. “It’s all I can hope to be. It… That wasn’t the point I was trying to make, though.”

“Oh _._ ”

“The point is that out here,” Tony gestured towards the lake, and private land that stretched out behind the cabin, leaving it out practically in the middle of nowhere. “Out here you can be whoever you want. Do whatever you want. All you have to do is believe.”

“The only thing I want I can never have,” Steve murmured, one hand already around his dog tags before he tore his gaze away from Tony, and looked down at his hands. “I could believe all I damn want and it would never bring him back.”

 _Him?_ Whatever inkling Tony had on what was upsetting Steve vanished in almost an instant. “Him?”

Steve looked over at Tony, his eyes widened slightly like he hadn’t realized until then what he said. But after a moment he looked back at his hands, and explained: “My best friend. He died during the war. He was the only family that I had left… And it was my fault that he died.”

“Steve,” Tony started, and then stopped, because what do you say to a man who believes he killed his best friend? “I’m sure it wasn’t your fault.”

“I was the reason he was there in the first place. He… he followed me blindly like the idiot that he was and it was _my fault-_ “ Steve cut himself off, shaking his head as he looked out towards the lake. After a beat of silence, he added: “Being out here reminds me of him. He… liked the quiet a lot more than I ever could. Bucky never wanted to fight but my dumbass could stay out of them and he was there every time to back me up. But after the war, he said, something quiet like this was what we both deserved.”

“And what do you think?” Tony asked, not that surprised when Steve just shook his head, laughing slightly.

“A quiet life has never been my style, Tony. This is nice and all but… it doesn’t feel right. I feel like I need to be doing more.”

“If anyone deserves to take a break, I’m pretty sure it’s you. Even not considering the time you did as a Capsicle, you’ve done more than your fair share of service,” Tony pointed out, even though he knew before the words were out it wasn’t going to be enough to convince Steve. He was too damn sacrificial for that. “Besides, you’re an Avenger. There will always be something the world needs saving from.”

“I could do more though. I _should_ do more. I’m Captain America, people need me-“ Steve started to argue, his words cut off when he noticed Tony looking back towards the house, and saw Peter standing there sleepily holding his teddy.

“We need you here too, Steve,” Tony said softly, beckoning Peter to come join them. As the boy crossed the yard, he added a bit louder “Peter loves having you around all the time, don’t you Pete?”

Peter nodded as he climbed into his dad’s lap, humming happily as arms wrapped around him and he settled against Tony to go back to sleep. His eyes weren’t even open as he mumbled “Don’t want you to go, Mr. Merica.”

It was a cruel card for Tony to pull. He knew Steve was just about as good at saying no to Peter that he was. And how could he ever explain to Peter why he needed to leave? He had money (and Tony would never let him pay for a thing anyways) so he didn’t _need_ a job for that. And Tony was right that the Avengers were likely going to do their fair share of world saving, it wasn’t like he was giving up protecting people. It just wasn’t his life now.

But it should be, shouldn’t it? That’s why the government made him all those years ago, so that he could serve and protect and do the things no other soldier could do. It was his _job._ The world needed Captain America.

“What else do you have to do?” Tony asked when he was sure Peter was asleep again, and realized that Steve still hadn’t quite given in to the idea of just settling down. “Seriously, are you going to reenlist in the army or something? I mean they would probably have you, but for what reason?”

“SHIELD offered me a job,” Steve said as if his next step should have been obvious. It was the only place he _had_ to go. “Starting in the fall. I would have joined immediately, but Fury insisted I needed rest first.”

“You’re going to work for SHIELD?!” Tony whispered yelled, rage bubbling up in his stomach suddenly, and he stared at Steve like he didn’t even know him. “After all you saw with the Tesseract? You _trust_ them?”

“I trust Fury to _learn_ from his mistakes. To realize you can’t win any wars before they start, not without innocent people getting hurt in the process,” Steve shot back, Coulson’s blood-stained cards flashing through his head. “SHIELD was founded with good intentions. Peggy believed in what they’re doing.”

“So did my father,” Tony snapped, causing Steve to recoil just slightly at the sharpness in his voice. “I know you thought Howard was a great friend and genius or whatever, but he never had any qualms about doing what _he_ thought was right, regardless of what that meant. And Fury is the same way, I wouldn’t trust that man as far as I could throw him.”

“Because he’s a spy or because he works for SHIELD?” Steve asked, and Tony shrugged.

“A bit of both really.”

“So is Natasha. And Clint. But you seem to trust the two of them just fine.”

“Yeah well,” Tony looked down at Peter, brushing a stray curl away from the boy’s face as he made sure he was fast asleep before he began to speak. “Nat and Clint never made Peter cry just by being in the tower, so I feel like that trust is well earned.”

“Wait, I thought Fury didn’t know about Peter?” Steve’s face was pinched in confusion, and Tony sighed softly, shaking his head.

“He _doesn’t._ But Peter knows about Fury.”

“I’m not sure I’m following where this is going,”

“You’ve known Peter for a few months now, right?” Tony asked, changing the subject so abruptly it felt like whiplash, but Steve nodded along anyway trying to see where Tony was going. “Tell me something, do you trust him?”

“Trust him?” Steve asked, still confused. “Trust him about what?”

“ _Him._ His gut. If Peter told you something, would you trust what he’s saying?”

Whatever Tony was trying to get at, Steve wasn’t understanding. It’s not like he was expecting Peter to lie, but he was a _kid,_ and kids don’t always know things like they think. “Tony, I… I don’t know what you’re wanting from me here.”

“To know that you’ll believe my kid when he says something is wrong, even if you have no reason to believe him.” Tony sighed again, harsher this time, running a hand through his hair as he tried to think of the best way to explain what he meant, without talking too much about things he would rather let die in the past. “Peter has really good instincts, okay Cap? And the last time I didn’t listen to him, bad things happened.”

“Bad things?”

“Yeah. Bad things like Afghanistan bad things.” Tony replied, his arms tightening just slightly around Peter out of fear or protection from memories he wasn’t quite sure, but he held on to his son all the same. “Peter threw a fit right before I left on that trip. He _begged_ me not to go, kept saying that something bad was going to happen. I thought he was just going through a phase where he didn’t want me to leave, it wouldn’t be the first time he had, but he was inconsolable. He couldn’t tell us what, but he knew something was going to go wrong.”

“Tony, you can’t be serious-”

“I _know_ my son, Steve,” Tony cut him off, his voice more serious than Steve could ever remember hearing it. He _believed_ what he was saying about Peter, and Steve honestly wasn’t sure if it was better or worse that way. “Peter’s never liked strangers but do you know the only person that he’s been absolutely inconsolable around since he was a baby?”

Steve shook his head.

“Obadiah Stane. Peter _never_ trusted Stane, and especially when he was younger would cry for hours after he left the tower. He could never tell me why, just said that Stane made him feel unsafe and felt bad. Everyone told me it was just Peter not wanting to share my attention, but he never cared about Pepper or anyone else who worked for me. It was only Stane. Who had been trying to kill me ever since my dad died.”

The last sentence tasted bitter in Tony’s mouth, something he couldn’t quite wrap his head around still. He stopped doubting Peter’s gut right around then, and so far, the kid hadn’t steered him wrong. “Before Coulson showed up at the tower, that entire day, Peter was clinging to me and kept saying _something_ was going to happen. And when I called him, after we had Loki the first time, he told me something still felt off. Still felt bad. He was hiding in the safe room when Loki opened the portal, but he was there before I even had JARVIS tell him to because he said he could feel something coming.”

“Do you get what I’m saying, Cap? Maybe it’s just because he’s a kid, but Peter has this _sense_. And I trust it.”

“What does this have to do with Fury?” Steve asked, still not seeing the connection Tony was trying to build, and still not sure either if he was really buying into what he was saying. I mean sure Peter was exceptionally bright for his age, and seemed to notice things even he didn’t always, but it wasn’t like he could just tell bad from good. And certainly he couldn’t predict the future.

“Fury doesn’t know about Peter because Peter doesn’t want him to. He doesn’t want to be anywhere near Fury, doesn’t even want him coming in the tower. He wouldn’t say what it was, but something about Fury’s presence upset him, and Peter cried when I told him I couldn’t promise he wouldn’t be back.” Steve’s eyes widened slightly as Tony spoke. Suddenly the first morning in the tower was making a lot more sense. Why Tony decided to trust them while insisting that Fury didn’t find out.

But he couldn’t really be asking Steve to give up the chance to fight for the right people, to protect the country, just based on Peter’s gut. Even if he believed him… wouldn’t that be a reason to fight? If things were bad, then they needed him.

“I know it’s a lot to ask,” Tony admitted like he was reading Steve’s mind. “You want to join SHIELD because you feel like it’s your duty. And if it’s really what you want to do, there’s nothing I can do to change your mind. It’s your choice. I’m just… asking you to consider the alternative.”

“Which is…?”

“You stay at the tower with me and Peter. _You_ lead the Avengers, not SHIELD, and they’re sponsored by SI. You make the entire world know that Captain America doesn’t support the kind of shady deals that SHIELD gets up to. And I keep working to declassify their secrets to figure out how the hell they knew how to use the Tesseract and build Hydra weapons in the first place.”

It was the last bit that made Steve pause more than anything else. He hadn’t thought about it since they were on the Helicarrier, but it _was_ a little fishy how well SHEILD seemed to be able to use the Tesseract without really understanding it. Granted, he had no idea how much Hydra understood it either and they were still able to use it but…

“You could do just as much good fighting for SHIELD as you could leading a team of your own. Maybe better considering the Avengers wouldn’t have to only respond to whatever someone else deemed important.”

Steve sighed heavily. Tony really was doing one hell of a job at convincing him, and now Steve could see yet another similarity between him and his son. Although unlike Peter, Tony seemed all too aware of what he was doing. Not that it gave Steve any more of an ability to say no to him.

“I… You’re right about the Avengers. We need to answer to ourselves, not someone who might have other interests,” Steve gave in finally, and a smile started to spread across Tony’s face.

“Does that mean you’re not joining SHIELD?”

“It means I’ll think about it. There’s still time before I’m even allowed to join anyways. Let’s see what you find for now and I’ll see how I feel when the time comes.”

“That’s fair enough,” Tony agreed, although his face fell slightly at the news. It wasn’t the yes he was hoping for, but it was at least a start. A chance to prove to Steve he could trust Peter, and that leaving SHIELD be was the right choice. “We can call Fury when we get back to the tower and tell him the great news. I’m sure he’ll be thrilled to know the Avengers are rebelling already.”

Steve snorted, unable to stop himself from smiling slightly at Tony’s comment. “Yeah well, he should have expected it with you on the team.”

“Yeah well from what I’ve heard you’ve never been exactly one to play by the rules either,” Tony teased back, and Steve’s smile grew just slightly because yeah okay that was true. “Actually, I don’t think any of this team is known for their rule-following skills.”

“Maybe not. But it’s why we work so well together.”

“Well, you know what they say. A family that breaks laws together stays together.”

“Yeah… family.” When he woke up from the ice, Steve had been certain he had all but lost his last chance of having a family. Bucky was gone and Peggy… well the days of building a family with her had long passed him by.

But sitting out here by the lake, Tony and Peter on the chair beside him, Daisy fast asleep at their feet, even with the other Avengers miles away back in the city or wherever else they called home. For the first time since losing Bucky, Steve felt like he had a family again.

This wasn’t something he could risk losing. Even if it meant he could never work for SHIELD, that he had to give up fighting all of the time for something else. He couldn’t take the chance of losing his family again. Not when he was sure there would be no way he could find something like this a third time.

**Author's Note:**

> Shield no longer looks like a word to me so I hope I spelt it right the entire fic because I'm not sure I did honestly. 
> 
> Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this bit of Steve and Tony's talk. I actually wrote this fic almost entirely because I had another idea about a scene between Steve and Peter a bit later on in the series, but I needed this to be written first so I could kind of work my head around where exactly Steve was. 
> 
> Also I don't know if you can tell I was listening to Hamilton while reading this, but like this fic would not exist without a few of the songs giving me ideas.


End file.
